Candidate
Donald Trump speaks at the 'Stop the Iran Deal' rally in
Washington D.C. in September 2015.Susan Walsh/AP

The European Union extended sanctions on Iran over
human rights violations on Thursday, in a step that may appease
President Donald Trump.

The EU is eager to safeguard the Iran Deal, under which
Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear ambitions for at least a
decade, but divided over how to achieve that.

The United Nations said in March that Iran had arrested
activists and political opponents in a clampdown on freedom of
expression and continued to use torture to coerce
confessions.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union extended sanctions on
Iran over human rights violations on Thursday, as the bloc
prepared for a clash over whether to impose a new set of
penalties in the hope of safeguarding a nuclear deal with the
Islamic republic.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been a fierce critic of the 2015
nuclear accord between world powers and Iran. He has given a May
12 deadline to fix it, threatening otherwise not to extend U.S.
sanctions relief on Iran related to the agreement.

The EU is eager to safeguard the pact, under which Tehran agreed
to curb its nuclear ambitions for at least a decade, but divided
over how to achieve that.

France has pushed for new sanctions over Iran's missile programme
and involvement in conflicts in the region, including in Syria
where Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad. Paris hopes that
would show Trump the EU takes his concerns seriously.

But Italy leads the sceptic camp, fearing any such move would
upset Tehran and European firms' chances of winning lucrative
contracts there as the country opens up after decades of
international isolation.

Rome also says there is no guarantee that new punitive measures
from the EU would ensure Trump does not walk away from the
nuclear accord anyway.

Foreign affairs ministers of all states in the EU, where
decisions on sanctions require unanimity, will take sides over
that at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. Britain and Germany
back France, while Austria and Spain are in Italy's camp.

Last month, Paris, Rome and London proposed targeting Iranian
"militias and commanders" in building on the EU's existing
sanctions related to Syria, which include travel bans and asset
freezes on people and a ban on doing business there.

The three are concerned about transfers of Iranian "missiles and
missile technology" to Syria and Tehran allies including Houthi
rebels in Yemen and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah.

On Thursday, the EU extended the only remaining sanctions it has
against Iran, related to human rights violations, by a year until
April 2019.

They include asset freezes and travel bans against 82 people and
one entity, as well as a prohibition of exports of equipment that
could be used for internal repression and monitoring
telecommunications, the bloc said in a statement.

The United Nations said in March that Iran had arrested activists
and political opponents in a clampdown on freedom of expression
and continued to use torture to coerce confessions.

The EU revoked its broader set of economic and financial
sanctions on Iran in 2016 after the nuclear deal was struck.